I've stated a few times that the one major void on the Cubs roster is the lack of a power-hitting right-fielder who bats left-handed. Some reports tonight indicate the north-siders are in discussions with the Kansas City Royals regarding Mark Teahen.
The upsides are that Teahen plays a serviceable right-field, can hit for decent power (18 HRs in only 109 games in '06 as a 24 year-old), would likely see a spike in his numbers moving to a much better lineup and playing in an easier league, and he's much more cost-efficient to the team than signing Bobby Abreu or Raul Ibanez would be in free agency. He's a 27 year-old with versatile abilities who can run a little bit as well.
So, yeah, he could fill that need.
I just don't think I would like the move. As a matter of fact, I hate it.
The Cubs would be trading for Teahen, and they'd likely have to part with some players who could be of use in a deal down the road for a better player (cough, Jake Peavy, cough, cough!), and it's not exactly like the team is strapped for cash.
Furthermore, I don't see the upgrade. Why trade for a guy who has been a below average hitter the past two seasons -- if you use OPS -- is a terrible contact hitter, and only gets on base 31 percent of the time (.313 OBP in 2008)? If Jim Hendry is really planning on settling like this in right field, he should just move Mark DeRosa out there and play Mike Fontenot at second base. Fontenot is left-handed, sported a .395 OBP last year, and hit nine home runs in just 243 at-bats. Simply put, he's a better player than Teahen.
Making this trade would be trading just for the sake of trading, and that's not really what you want to do with a 97 win team. Go for the jugular, and quit just flailing arms all about, hoping to strike gold, Jim.
Mark Teahen on Cubs Radar, But Why? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
